BEIJING, April 6 — General Motors, the world’s second-biggest automaker, said on Monday that it plans to install a new brake safety measure to prevent unintended acceleration in passenger vehicles worldwide by 2012.

According to a statement issued Monday, the U.S.-based automaker will add brake override software in all passenger cars with automatic transmissions and electronic throttle control.

The brake override software can reduce power to the engine when the driver steps on both the brake and the accelerator, and can slow a vehicle if the gas pedal is stuck, said the statement.

So far, GM has not had major problems with unintended acceleration, but the company said it wanted to reassure customers about safety.

“We know safety is top of mind for consumers, so we are applying additional technology to reassure them that they can count on the brakes in their GM vehicle,” said Tom Stephens, GM’s vice chairman in charge of global product operations.

After Toyota’s safety issues, U.S. federal regulators are considering making such override systems mandatory on all new vehicles. 

On Xinhua Web site: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2010-04/06/c_13239364.htm